Sunday, April 08, 2012

Lawiswis Kawayan

We did not expect to end up here; but we're glad we did. I already blogged about our trip to Bataan and Subic so for all my regular readers, I know you're already aware of the details as to how we ended up in this resort and spa. The Lawiswis Kawayan Garden Resort and Spa is in Calumpit, Bulacan. If you're looking for a place where you can just relax and take a break from all the hustles and bustles in the city, this is the place to be.Getting there

Commuting is a bit of a drag so if you got your own ride, it's way better. We found out about Lawiswis Kawayan through my ninang who wants to go there so when we were looking for a resort which still has an available room, we saw the Lawiswis Kawayan sign board and turned right from Calumpit's main road. The road was quite narrow and you need keep your eyes peeled from the children who suddenly crosses or the parked tricycle or cars along the way. This is actually one of the things I do not like about some Filipinos. Kung wala ka pang sariling garahe, 'wag ka nga munang bumili ng kotse! We actually just followed the signs saying Lawiswis Kawayan straight ahead and 2km away to Lawiswis Kawayan. We're such adventurers.

The pool area

Upon arriving at the place, there wasn't a guard at sight and parking was a bit of a drag if the place is packed with people. However, you can see how relaxing the place is with a soft background music playing along with the chirping of the birds. Serenity at last! We were quite worried because rooms may not be available anymore; but just as we have inquired for an available room, the family occupying the Kalinga room (yes, that's how they name their rooms: Kalinga, Pag-ibig and other related Filipino words which pretty much means relaxing) just checked out. Yipee!

The Kalinga Room

This is not exactly our room but this is how it really looks like. Image source: lawiwiskawayanresort.com

Our room has its own wide veranda where we can just chill out and take a wider look at the place. There's not much inside. The scent of the room just makes you want to stay in there forever. It has a calming and relaxing scent which is perfect for relaxing and spas. However, no cabinets or a place where we can hang our wet towels. Just a bed with rocks around it, a TV which has a weak cable signal and a small bathroom. Small, but clean. However, no hot water. ARRRGGGHH... Despite those cons, I believe it's still a perfect room to just chill out and relax. The veranda pretty much gives you a good deal, though.

What They Can Offer

Chillin' at the veranda while blogging ;)

Of course there is a pool. One is for the adults and one for the kids; however, it's not that big. It's okay, I guess, because the main purpose of the resort is to let you relax and not to actually go diving of some sort. The children can enjoy themselves as they have a play ground with swings, monkey bars and a little house-like for kids. For the adults, you can use they're duyan which is hanging by the mango tree. They also have wifi so for those who cannot live without the internet, this is a good news for you all. Oh and the best part, there's a spa!

The Lawiswis Kawayan Spa

Image Source: lawiswiskawayanresort.com

I was dying to try the spa. You know I love pampering myself so I will never let this pass me by. The prices for their spa services are so affordable. So I tried on their Swedish Massage. I forgot to ask the name of my therapist but he's gay and his hands were amazing. My arm and legs were actually aching; but a few hours after the massage, I'm like so energetic again. It was relaxing, indeed. He just gets the spots! On my next visit to this place, I'm definitely availing the spa packages. It's just so worth it and the prices, OMG. Their Swedish massage only costs P250. What a deal, huh?

The Food

You can actually bring in food but if you're as lazy as my family to prepare food, you can take their meal package. I think they're on promo right now so we got a neat deal of P300 per head which includes one breakfast, lunch and dinner. We arrived in late so we took the dinner on our first day. I had grilled liempo and I enjoyed the meal. Hehe. In the morning, I had Longganisa with egg and rice complete with coffee and for Lunch they actually just asked us what kind of dish we want. I had fried, crispy pork chop. They also served colselaw along my meal and fruit salad for the desert. For my parents, they were served lumpiang shanghai no colselaw but with sinigang sa miso and the fish in it was salmon! Awesome, right?

The Service

The staff were really friendly and are always smiling and greeting everyone. If you want to stay late in the pool you can just ask them nicely or if you want to have your massage at a specific time, just tell them so even if it's beyond the spa time (9PM) they can extend it until 10pm for you. However, my only negative comment is that their service is kind of slow or maybe they're just too busy. Anyway, it shouldn't be that way to begin with. They should always aim for an awesome customer service. We asked for ice around 4PM and it never came until we asked for it again around 7PM. My sister's toe was injured in the pool so we asked for their first aid kit. They told us they would bring it up in our room so we waited. It was before 6PM when we asked for it and my mom had to go back to their office around 8PM for the first aid kit again and that's when a staff finally came up to our room and brought a Betadine for my sister's still bleeding wound. Oh and when I told them I'd have my massage at 10am, I went down to my room and arrived in the spa around 10:02 am. An attendant listed my name and stuff then asked me to wait for my therapist. My therapist arrived 30 minutes later. ARRRGGGH... I guess this is the part they should improve.

The Whole Experience

Will I come back? YES. Do I recommend it? If you want a place where you can relax and enjoy the simple beauties of nature, this is definitely the place. I'm so dragging some of my friends here for a great relaxing experience. Affordable rates and worth it, definitely. I just hope they'd improve their customer service. Oh and they allow animals inside. If we only knew, we should have brought Jin. Hehehe. I'm so hoping to go back in this place again and have just leave the city one more time. It's so nice to hear again the chirping of the birds and the lawiswis ng kawayan.

You can check out their website at: LawiswisKawayanResort.com. The music you'd hear in the website is the exact music they play on loop at the resort. ;)